William Shakespeare's Shall I Compare Thee to a Summers Day - Essay Example

In the second line of the sonnet, the speaker is content on stating the differences between a man and a summer’s day, ‘summer days usually seem extreme, they are deterred by rough winds’, ‘in them, the eye of the heaven (sun) sometimes shines too dim or too hot.’ (Art of Europe, ‘William Shakespeare: Sonnet 18’)

In the final quatrain of the sonnet, the speaker talks of how his beloved differs from the summer's day, and how their beauty will last an eternity. ‘Thy eternal summer shall not fade…’ the speaker explains how his beloved’s beauty will serve to accomplish this feat, and it shall not perish in the poem and will last for eternity. ‘As long as men can breathe or eyes can see. (Art of Europe, ‘William Shakespeare: Sonnet 18’)

From a broad perspective, the poem is perceived as a basic statement portraying the beauty of the beloved. The summer is depicted as an unpleasant aspect of the environment, which includes the heat and windiness, but the beloved remains an admirable factor of the poem maintaining a mild temperature.  Summer is personified by stating it is the ‘eye of heaven’ consisting of a ‘gold complexion’. (Art of Europe, ‘William Shakespeare: Sonnet 18’)

 The imagery used is basic and ineffective, containing the ‘darling buds of May, which fosters the ‘eternal summer. It is used as a medium for the speaker to create a promise for his beloved. The language used is suited to the composition of the sonnet; it is not overbearing by using alliteration or even assonance. Each line is structured with a self-contained clause, and the (lines) end with punctuations, creating a pause for the reader.

The first 17 sonnets provide a realization for the speaker that a young, will not require children's preservation of his beauty. The speaker claims that he can live ‘in my rhyme’. In the 18th sonnet, the speaker begins his attempt at preserving his beauty forever, by writing his first ‘rhyme’. It can be used as a realization of the speaker’s self-indulgence in his personification. He is self-absorbed and illustrates his desperation to preserve his beauty and ensure that his beloved’s beauty is passed on through generations.

The essential theme of the sonnet is the speaker’s urge or necessity in attempting to defy time and live forever. He attempts to carry the beauty of his beloved into future generations. The ‘eternal summer is meant to last forever as well as never fade because it is integrated into the sonnet. ‘So long as men can draw breath or their eyes can see, the speaker indicates that ‘so long lives this, it shall give life to thee’. (Art of Europe, ‘William Shakespeare: Sonnet 18’)

The sonnet provides the true nature of artistry that defined Shakespeare’s nature. It provides a blend of rhythm and simplicity in structure and use of language. The play of words is used to provide and highlight the aspect of beauty and the speaker’s constant mission to defy time and live forever. A masterpiece is created with its own element. Therefore, the sonnet is a symbol of beauty, and the sonnet is beauty.